Audio / Video / Live Stats
IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine has accepted an invitation to compete in the CollegeInsider.Com Postseason Tournament and will play at the University of North Dakota in a first-round game Wednesday.
Tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. (PT) at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center in Grand Forks, N.D. The game will be carried live on KUCI/88.9 FM with Michael O'Sullivan calling the action.
This is UCI's fourth consecutive trip to the postseason and the second in four years to the CIT. The Anteaters went 1-1 in the 2013 CIT, defeating High Point, 80-71, before falling at Oral Roberts, 76-62.
Coach Russell Turner's Anteaters, Big West Conference regular-season co-champions, are 25-9 overall to tie the school record for single-season wins. UCI was 13-3 in the Big West this season. The Anteaters defeated Cal Poly, 84-64, in the Big West Tournament quarterfinals before falling to Long Beach State, 77-72, in the semifinals.
Junior guard Luke Nelson was named to the All-Big West Tournament team. He scored a career-high 36 points in the tourney win over Cal Poly, hitting 11 of 15 shots, including 6 of 7 threes.
Nelson, who was also an All-Big West first team selection this season, leads UCI in scoring at 13.8 points per game. Junior center Mamadou Ndiaye, who also earned Big West first-team honors, is averaging 12.4 points and 7.2 rebounds. The 7-6 Ndiaye has 84 blocked shots this season and is UCI's career leader with 215.
Senior guard Alex Young, an All-Big West second team honoree, is averaging 9.9 points and 4.5 assists per game. He ranks No. 1 in Anteater history with 563 assists.
North Dakota is 17-15 overall and was 10-8 in the Big Sky Conference for fifth place. The Fighting Hawks lost to eventual champion Weber State, 83-78 in overtime, in the Big Sky Tournament semifinals Friday night.
Junior guard Quinton Hooker, who tied his career high with 38 points in the loss to Weber State, was an All-Big Sky first team selection this season. He is averaging 20.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists.
This will be the third meeting in the series with North Dakota leading 2-0. UND won 95-69 in Grand Forks Dec. 20, 1975, and 75-68 in Irvine Dec. 6, 1976.
UCI and Grand Canyon have the most wins (25) in this year's CIT field:
2016 COLLEGEINSIDER.COM POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT (Eastern Times Listed):
FIRST ROUND
March 14-16
MONDAY, MARCH 14
Jackson State (19-15) @ Sam Houston State (18-15) 7:30
South Carolina State (19-14) @ Grand Canyon (25-6) 10:00
TUESDAY, MARCH 15
Mercer (19-14) @ Coastal Carolina (18-11) 7:00
UL Monroe (20-13) @ Furman (18-15) 7:00
Ball State (19-13) @ Tennessee State (20-10) 8:00
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16
UT Arlington (23-13) @ Savannah State (16-15) 7:00
Boston University (18-14) @ Fordham (17-13) 7:00
Norfolk State (17-16) @ Columbia (21-10) 7:00
New Hampshire @ Fairfield (19-13) 7:00
Army (19-13) @ NJIT (17-14) 7:30
UT-Martin (19-14) @ Central Michigan (17-15) 8:00
UC Irvine (25-9) @ North Dakota (17-15) 8:00
Texas A&M Corpus Christi (25-7) @ UL Lafayette (17-14) 8:00 pm
SECOND ROUND
March 18-20
QUARTERFINALS
March 22-24
SEMIFINALS
March 27
CHAMPIONSHIP
March 29
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